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Price v. Park Management11/26/2002
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - PERSONAL INJURY
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED: 11/26/2002
. Tracee Price and Cornell Dillard filed suit against Park Management, Inc., alleging that Park Management had breached its duty to maintain the premises of Willow Point Apartments in a safe manner, and alleging a tortious breach of contract. The Hinds County Circuit Court granted Park Management summary judgment on both claims. Price and Dillard perfected their appeal to this Court.
STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE
DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR PARK MANAGEMENT, INC.?
FACTS
. Tracee Price and Cornell Dillard were assaulted in Price's apartment in Willow Point Apartments, Apt. I-55, on August 25, 1996. Felicia Travis, who was dating Price's brother and roommate, Ronald Price, at the time of the assault, at some point during that evening gained entrance to the apartment, either prior to Price's and Dillard's arrival, or during a time when they were packing for a trip to Florida. Travis confronted Price, and they began to argue. Dillard attempted to stop the argument, and was successful. Price and Dillard continued to pack, and Travis used the phone.
. Shortly after Travis finished using the phone, she and Price began to argue again, and Travis's brothers, who had entered the apartment following Travis's phone call, became involved. Travis attacked Price with a hammer, and her brothers, Howard and Bobby, attacked Dillard with the butts of their pistols. After a short time, the Travises broke off their assault and fled the scene.
ANALYSIS
DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR IN GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT FOR PARK MANAGEMENT, INC.?
. Summary judgments are reviewed de novo, as they raise a question of law. Carter v. Harkey, 774 So. 2d 392, 394 ( ) (Miss. 2000). To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact, and upon successful demonstration the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 394 ( ). When evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the court must view all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. at 394 ( ).
. Price and Dillard brought a claim of negligence and a claim of breach of contract against Park Management. As the claim of breach of contract was abandoned on appeal, we will address only the claim of negligence. A claim of negligence has four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Carpenter v. Nobile, 620 So. 2d 961, 964 (Miss. 1993). To establish a prima facie case, Price must present sufficient evidence on all four elements of the claim to carry the burden of going forward.
1. Duty
. It is well settled that a landlord owes his tenants a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition, and that this duty extends to protecting tenants from the foreseeable criminal acts of others. Tharp v. Bunge Corp., 641 So. 2d 20, 25 (Miss. 1994); O'Cain v. Harvey Freeman & Sons, Inc., 603 So. 2d 824, 830 (Miss. 1991). It is also well settled that social guests of the tenant are owed no special duty by the landlord, but merely the duty owed by the landlord to trespassers that the landlord not wantonly or willfully injure the guest. Lucas v. Buddy Jones Ford Lincoln Mercury, 518 So. 2d 646, 647 (Miss. 1988). Applying these two duties to the case at hand, Park Management owed Price a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe, and owed Dillard a duty to refrain from wantonly or willfully injuring him.
2. Breach
. Having discussed the particular duties owed Price and Dillard
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